My Best Friend
by EdieRose
Summary: Let's pretend that Serena is Dan's best friend instead of Vanessa. Each chapter is a year or two in their life as best friends. DS friendship...maybe romance a little later...


**My Best Friend – Chapter 1: Pre-School**

**A/N: This idea came to me when I was pondering the situation of a male friend of mine who has no male friends at all, he prefers to hang out with the girls, and I kinda likened him to Dan in that matter and wouldn't it be awesome if Dan was besties with Serena instead of Vanessa (because her love of Ukranian food and her wannabe quirkiness etc really pisses me off) from kindergarten all the way through and then she leaves and he is heartbroken and yeah. I know HEAPS of other people have written similar ones but this one is going to be (if I'm disciplined enough!) a multi-chapter fic!! Kinda like a year of their life each chapter, I'm still trying to work it out!**

**I'm hoping to find a different song for each chapter, but for this chapter and for lack of a better story title, the song and story title are going to be the same ("My Best Friend" by Annie).**

**Thanks to Steph for beta-ing!!**

**xx Edie**

Daniel Humphrey stared down at his battered Ecco shoes, kicking and twisting his feet together. Across the playground, girls in matching Chloe sundresses were sitting on the steps, eating their yoghurt and fruit cups with unconscious elegance, although they were barely five years old.

_My best friend, where are you?_

_Tell me: where are you?_

_Can't seem to find you anywhere,_

_Will I ever meet you?_

Suddenly, a flurry of messy blonde curls plonked down on the swing beside Dan.

He looked up and saw a very pretty girl scowling at the group of girls on the steps.

She caught him looking and flashed a smile at him, showing a missing front tooth and dimples.

"Hi! I'm Serena," she lisped.

"Uh...Hi. I'm Dan," Dan said quietly.

"Nice to meet you, Dan," she giggled, and then resumed scowling at the girls again.

"Serena?" Dan whispered. "What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing. Just that my friend Blair is supposed to be playing with me, and instead she's over there sitting with Kati and Isabel and Rain and Laura and Penelope and Hazel and Rose and Lyla."

Serena's lower lip jutted out and tears began to spill from her cerulean eyes.

"Oh. That's not very nice of her."

"I know," she sniffed.

They sat there, kicking at the ground, scuffing their shoes against the tanbark, gently swinging back and forth on the swings, the babble of childish laughter all around them.

Serena suddenly shrieked; "I bet I can swing higher than you!"

"I bet you can't."

"Bet I can."

"Bet you can't."

"I can so! See!" Serena swung high on the swing, giggling as she descended.

"I can go even higher! See!" Dan swung even higher, feeling slightly nauseous at how far away the ground beneath him was.

"Well, I can go even higher!" Serena swung so high that she was in danger of the swing's chain wrapping backwards over the bar.

"SERENA VAN DER WOODSEN! STOP SWINGING IMMEDIATELY!" a shrill and sharp voice rang out over the playground, making Serena abruptly stop giggling and turn to grin sheepishly at Dan.

"Miss van der Woodsen, get off that swing immediately. No more swinging dangerously, please. Why don't you go and sit over there with Blair, you and her are good friends, yes?" Miss Kelly, the kindergarten teacher strode over to Serena and began ushering her away from the highly dangerous play equipment.

"But Miss Kelly! I like playing with Dan! Come on Danny, let's go play in the sandpit." Serena hopped down off the swingset and tugged on Dan's hand, dragging him across the playground to the sandpit.

Miss Kelly clicked her tongue in disapproval, but reluctantly let the little girl go and play in the relatively safe sandpit.

_Thought I saw you last night smiling at me,_

_Thought I heard your voice calling for me,_

_Did I imagine it, was it a dream?_

_What do you look like, are you just like me?_

"Danny!" A flurry of blonde curls nearly bowled Dan over.

"Serena!" he gasped. "Hi!"

"Guess what! I dreamed about you last night!"

"Really?" Dan blushed.

"Yeah, we were building castles out of Lego, and you stole all the red pieces, so I had to make mine out of yellow, and then you felt sorry for me and we swapped castles."

"Cool. So do you want to make a Lego castle now? I promise I won't steal all the red pieces, I prefer the green ones, anyway."

"OK, but I like the green ones too!"

"We'll share then."

"Alright Danny! What did you dream about last night?" Serena and Dan babbled all the way over to the Lego corner.

_My best friend, where are you?_

_Tell me: where are you?  
_

_Can't seem to find you anywhere,_

_Will I ever meet you?_

"Miss van der Woodsen, what's the matter?" Miss Kelly sat down next to the blubbering four-year-old.

"Da-da-danny's not here," she stammered, fresh tears rolling down her rosy cheeks.

"Who? Oh, never mind, dear. Why don't you go and play tea-party with Blair over there?"

"Fine." Serena's jaw locked and she glared in the general direction of Blair and little group of friends who were crowded round her as if she were a princess and they were her handmaidens, which they probably were.

Serena got up off the carpet, her eyes narrowed and a teacup in her hand.

_They're so sweet,_ Miss Kelly thought, watching the girls sit gracefully around the table, comparing their Prada headbands and sipping at the water in their teacups, their fingers curled daintily around the plastic as if it were the fine-bone china of their homes.

Miss Kelly turned her attention away from the tea-party and focused on a group of boys in a circle, one of whom had another boy in a headlock.

"Boys! Contrary to what may happen in your homes, violence is not the answer!" Miss Kelly strode over to them.

As soon as Miss Kelly's back was turned, Blair Waldorf turned to Serena, smiling sweetly before dumping her cup of water over Serena's Gucci loafers. "That's for not sitting with me all of this week."

Blair turned to Isabel, taking the teacup handed to her and dumping it over Serena's blonde curls, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. "And that's for befriending that little Dan Humphrey. Have some standards, please."

Serena smiled and sat up from the table, grabbing a corner of the white polyester tablecloth, pulling it along behind her, sending the teacups of water and the 'fancy cakes' (Graham crackers) flying all over Blair and her friends.

"Whoops," Serena smiled and raised an eyebrow, daring Blair to challenge her.

Blair swallowed, tears forming in her eyes.

Serena gave Blair the evil eye, something she had certainly learned from her mother and turned and stalked out into the playground.

_Thought I saw you last night smiling at me,_

_Thought I heard your voice calling for me,_

_Day after day, looking for something new,_

_Closer and closer, the ones that we knew_

Dan and Serena sat under the playground, sharing their lunches.

"I'll trade you half my jambon and relish for half of your tomato and salad?"

"Deal."

"So why were you away yesterday? I had to play with Blair and them," Serena bit into her half of Dan's sandwich and smiled at the memory.

"Oh, sorry about that. I had a sore stomach and Daddy said I could stay home."

"I missed you, Blair was being really mean. I don't really like her that much, but we've been friends since we were babies! Our mommies are really good friends, they go shopping together and drink this awful tasting stuff and then they go all crazy and start dancing on tables and singing funny songs and kissing strange men. And Blair's daddy does that too!" Serena giggled.

_Wow, _Dan thought. _Their world is so much different to mine! My daddy _never_ dances on tables and kisses other men! My daddy only ever kisses Mommy. Right?_

Serena's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "And now she's angry because she and I are supposed to be best friends but I told her that I already had another best friend, and then she got all angry, and when Blair's angry you should run for cover! I'm surprised I haven't found my favourite Marc Jacobs blouse ripped to shreds yet! Or my Chanel bracelet. We better watch out, Danny."

_Oh will I ever meet you?_

_Want you to know, you're not alone,_

_You'll find a way,_

_There's always someone out there_

**Aaargh!! Finally! I've been working on that for WEEKS!! Practically the whole of summer. Please tell me what you think! I've been fretting over it for ages!**


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